Collapsible gas holder



Aug; 23,1938. V K, JAGSQHITZX 2,127,519

COLLAPSIBLE GAS HOLDER Filed Jan. 18, 1956 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 BY ATTORNEY.

Aug. 23, 1938. K. JAGSCHI TZ 2,127,519

COLLAPSIBLE GAS HOLDER Filed Jan. 18, 1936 '3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQR. Kan rad faysc Liz ATTORNEY.

Aug. 2a, 1938.

K. JAG SCHITZ COLLAPSIBLE GAS HOLDER Filed Jan. 18, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Patented Aug. 23, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT orries COLLAPSIBLE GAS HOLDER Konrad Jagschitz, Mainz-Gustavsburg, Germany,

assignor to Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Numberg A. G., Nuremberg, Germany, a corporation of Germany Application January 18, 1936, Serial No. 59,686 In Germany-February 8, 1935 16 Claims.

This invention relates to collapsible gasholders of the type in which the shell is undulated so that it resembles a bellows and can be expanded and collapsed. The gas enclosed in the undulated shell is, of course, under pressure, and as the sheet-metal plates of which the shell is composed are more or less sharply curved only in certain regions whereas other parts are comparatively flat, the internal pressure tends to bulge out said comparatively flat portions of the undulated shell. Owing thereto, there arise stresses, especially circumferential stresses, which can be computed, controlled and overcome only with-difficulty. In order to provide for the necessary safety, the sheet-metal plates must be comparatively thick, which entails, however, the drawback that the elasticity of the undulated portions, or of the entire shell itself, is not as great as is desired and as would be useful for the purpose in view.

The object of the present invention is to render it possible to utilize satisfactorily thinner sheetmetal plates, and for this purpose undulated plates made of relatively thin sheet-metal are combined with rigid rods which constitute supports for the undulations and prevent their bulging-out. The arrangement of said rods relative to the sheet-metal undulations is such that changes in the undulations under the internal pressure of the gas cannot exceed a certain maximum, and it is even possible to determine the alterations of the undulations in such a way as to prevent excessive stresses caused by detrimental alterations.

As the shape of the undulations in the expanded state of the shell is different from that in the collapsed state of the same, there exists, of course, a medium shape half-way between the two. It is of advantage to accommodate the shape of the above-mentioned rods to this medium shape. The rods are always rigid, and those rods which follow one another in vertical direction in correspondence with the undulations constitute, as it were, a zigzag shaped chain, the links of which are formed by the successive rods. Such rod-chains are arranged around the entire circumference of the shell at certain distances from one another. The lowermost end of every rod-chain is attached to the bottom of the gasholder and the uppermost end thereof is attached to the top or ceiling of the same. The entire set of the rod-chains thus constitutes a collapsible, articulated skeleton reinforcing structure which encloses the collapsible shell but permits ready expansion and collapse at the bends of the undulations while taking up the pressure exerted thereon by the shell. The

individual rod-chains and the shell, or its undulations, are movably connected with one another at certain places, as is more fully explained hereinafter.

The rods constituting the rod-chains are, of course, connected with one another at their inner ends, as well as at their outer ones; at their inner ends either directly or by the intermediary of short links, generally straight links, whereas at the outer ends said rods are, as a rule, connected by curved links fitting to the curves of the shell at the outer bends of the undulations.

It has already been mentioned that portions of the undulations are comparatively fiat. however, not absolutely necessary in all cases. There may be a bend or bends also in said portions, the purpose being to increase the certainty of prevention of excessive stresses. In a preferred form of this construction I provide every comparatively fiat portion of the undulations of the shell with a plurality of said additional bends, generally two, each of which is connected with the adjacent portion of the associated rigid rod by means of a link hinged at one end to said rod and at the other end to the respective bend, as is likewise more fully described hereinafter.

The invention is illustrated diagrammatically and by way of example on the accompanying drawings on which Figure 1 is a vertical section through a portion of an undulated sheet-metal shell, in combination with the associated rigid rods which are shown in side-view, the undulation being partly expanded. Figure 2 is a similar rep- 'resentation showing the undulations collapsed, there being, however, shown in this figure a greater number of undulations and, therefore, also of said rods. Figure 3 is a horizontal section along the line A-B of Fig. 1. Figure 4 is a view similar to Fig. l but is drawn to an enlarged scale relative to Fig. 1 and shows a modified constructional form. Fig. 5 shows the same parts in collapsed state; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the gasholder shell and associated reinforcing structure according to Fig. 1.

On the drawings, a denotes the sheet-metal shell, or the undulations of the same, and b, b denote the rigid rods which are located'on the outside of the shell and extend more or less transvers-ely'thereto. Theinternal pressure to which the shell is subjected at its inner surface must, therefore, be assumed to be directed from the right to the left in the figures. The pressure of the gas tends to bulge the undulations outwardly, especially when the shell is expanded. That undesired and, perhaps, also detrimental effect is This is,

prevented by the rigid rods 1), b which are connected with one another in series in the upward direction, the successive rods forming, in the more or less expanded state of the shell, a zig-zag line, as appears especially from Fig. 1. The successive rods are connected with one another at their inner ends by hinges d and at their outer ends by curved links 71. and hinges e.

The rods 11, b are, however, connected also with the undulations a by means of hinges 0 located? about in the middle portions of the rods. It is not necessary that these connections be constituted only of hinges, i. e. by movable members; rivets or bolts may be used instead of hinge connections or the parts in question may be united by welding.

The superposed portions of the undulations which lie adjacent to one another, that is, the consecutive oppositely inclined portions of the shell, as seen in Fig. 1, are arranged symmetrically with respect to the horizontal plane in which the respective hinge d is located; that is, the general planes of their surfaces make approximately equal angles with the horizontal. In the fully collapsed condition of the gas-holder, therefore, as shown in Fig. 2, the shell portions extendroughly horizontally. The shell portions may, however, also be so constructed as to be symmetrical with respect to planes oblique to the horizontal, so that in the collapsed condition of the shell the convolutions lie in planes directed obliquely downwardly; as a result, any water present on their outer surface can flow 01f.

The main portions of the undulations, i. e. between their inner and their outer bends, are comparatively flat, or only Very slightly curved, as appears from Fig. 1. These curves undergo slight changes when the undulations are expanded and collapsed, generally, in such manner that the curves approach the rods b along a portion of their length and move away from the rods along other portions of their length. This curvature depends also upon the shape of the rods b, b. which need not in every case be straight but may be slightly curved so as to be able to contact with the undulations of the shell. And instead of only one connection, such as c or an equivalent one, two or more such connections may be provided.

There may also be horizontal connections, such as f, (Figs. 3 and 6), which consist of horizontal bars connecting two adjacent bends h with one another, always in pairs, as appear from Fig. 3. These bars extend, thus, tangentially with respect to the circumference of the gasholder shell. Furthermore, it is possible to connect a bend h and a hinge d located diagonally thereto by a diagonal rod g, by which the system is stiffened. The members b, b, j and g form frames which are roughly triangular in shape and which follow one another at intervals around the circumference of the shell. The intervals, viz. the empty spaces, where there are no bars like f and g, are necessary because the diameter of the shell changes when it is expanded or collapsed, as will be clear without further explanation.

I have already mentioned that every comparatively fiat or only very slightly curved portion of the undulations may be connected with the associated stiffening rod by more than one member, such as c or an equivalent therefor. A constructional form of this kind is shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and is distinguished from the constructional form shown in Figs. 1-3 not merely in the use of a plurality of connections, but also by a particular shape of the portions of the undulations in question. The stiffening rods are, in this modified constructional form, practically the same as those already described, but not only are their outer ends connected with one another by links, as the curved links h, but also their inner ends, as by links 7' which, however, are straight, as shown.

The main difference in Figs. 4 and 5 over Figs. 1-3 consists in the fact that the portions of the undulations between the straight and said curved links 7' and hv are subdivided into smaller undulations, each of which includes a bend it which is directed approximately at right angles to the main part of the undulations and is movably connected with the adjacent part of the associated stiffening rod b or b by links m permitting small movements of the undulations with respect to said rods; This configuration of the undulations facilitates the changes of the form which the shell undergoes when being expanded and collapsed. In other words: the shell is prevented from undergoing unintended and detrimental changes in the form of the undulations.

Weights n of concrete or other material may be secured to pairs of rods b and b for increasing the gas pressure required to expand the gasholder, as is well understood in the art. The ends of the articulated reinforcing structure may be connected to the top and bottom of the shell in any suitable way, as by means of short links 0, see Fig. 6, mounted on brackets p fixed to the shell.

It is apparent that the changes in the form of the undulations when the shell is expanded or collapsed are taken up especially by the bends k which give more easily than the other portions of the undulations. Dangerous stresses are, therefore, completely obviated.

I desire to call attention to my copending applications Ser. Nos. 10,533 and 65.004, the earlier application disclosing and claiming broadly gasholders of the collapsible type; the later application describing and claiming an improved form of reinforcement for a collapsible gasholder.

I claim:

1. In a gasholder, the combination of a collapsible shell formed by a series of upwardly extending undulations of flexible material, and relatively rigid rods extending transversely approximately parallel to successive individual undulations and adjacent thereto, said rods acting to stiffen the material of said undulations to resist distortion by the pressure of the gas stored within said shell.

2. In a gasholder, the combination of a collapsible shell formed by a series of upwardly extending undulations of fiexible material, relatively rigid rods extending transversely of the undulations approximately parallel to the individual undulations and adjacent thereto, said rods acting to stiffen the material of said undulations to resist distortion by the pressure of the gas stored within the shell, and means connecting said rods and the associated undulations with one another.

3. A gasholder as specified in claim. 2, in which the stiffening rods and the associated undulations are connected for movement relative to each other.

4. A gasholder as specified in claim 2, in which the stiffening rods and the associated undulations are connected with one another approximately at the middle portion of every rod.

5. A gasholder as specified in claim 2, in which rods are located externally of the shell and in which the superposed rods disposed within the two successive superposed portions of an undulation are movably connected with one another at their inner ends.

6. A gasholder as specified in claim 2, in which the superposed rods associated with twosuccessive superposed portions of an undulation are connected with one another at their outer ends.

7. A gasholder as specified in claim 2, in which the rods follow one another in generally vertical formed by said rods, means connecting the lower ends of the rod-chains with the bottom of the gasholder, and means connecting the upper ends of the rod-chains with the top of the gasholder.

10. A gasholder as specified in claim 2, in which the rods follow one another in generally vertical direction and are movably connected in series with one another at their inner and outer ends, the rods thus forming a plurality of rodchains, the rod-chains being disposed about the circumference of the shell and constituting a collapsible reinforcing structure enclosing the collapsible shell, and connections between the upper ends of the rod chains and the top of the gasholder.

11. In a gasholder, the combination of a collapsible shell formed of upwardly extending undulations of flexible material, relatively rigid rods extending adjacent to and approximately parallel to the portions of the undulations between their inner and outer bends, said rods being arranged so as to stiiTen the shell, said portions being provided with relatively small intermediate bends directed toward said rods, and means connecting the undulation and the said rods at approximately said intermediate bends.

12. A gasholder as specified in claim 2, in which relatively small intermediate bends are provided in the comparatively fiat portions of the undulations between their inner and outer bends, the undulations and the rods being connected for relative movement with respect to each other at approximately said intermediate bends.

13. In a gasholder, the combination of a collapsible shell formed of a series of upwardly extending undulations of flexible material, and a plurality of upwardly extending chains formed at least in part of relatively rigid rods paralleling approximately the portions of the undulations between the inner and outer bends of the latter and connected to said shell to stiffen the same.

14. A gasholder as set forth in claim 13, wherein said rod-chains are connected in pairs by relatively rigid members to form individual articulated framework sections.

15. In a gasholder, the combination of a collapsible shell composed of a series of upwardly extending undulations of flexible material, and a stifiening-framework extending upwardly along the shell and composed at least in part of relatively rigid rods pivotally associated at their adjacent ends at the inner and outer bends of the shell and capable of assuming approximately the zig-zag shape of the undulations so as toconfine such undulations and hold the same against distortion.

16. A gasholder comprising a collapsible shell formed of a series of upwardly extending undulations, an articulated framework composed of relatively rigid rod members distributed cifcumferentially about the gasholder, said rod members extending along the parts of the undulations between the inner and outer bends in zig-zag .fashion and being connected in upwardly extending series at approximately such bends to form continuous upwardly extending rod-chains,

and connections between the rod chains and the shell.

' KONRAD JAGSCHITZ. 

